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16 March 2016

Let's face it, I'm just not good at keeping my own secrets. If you confide in me and ask me to keep your secret, I'm good. I believe that's your info to share - not mine - and I'm all ears for you. But when it comes to keeping my own secrets, good news, etc., you can almost always guarantee I'll spill the beans before I actually wanted to!

With Barrett, we found out he was a boy at our 17 week appointment when we talked my doctor into doing a quick ultrasound right there in the room. We kept the secret between the two of us for just a couple of short days until our gender reveal that weekend. That same weekend, we also shared his name with family and friends.

With Baby Girl Hinton, we just couldn't wait that long to find out the gender. This pregnancy has been very different than the first and we both just had a gut feeling that it was a girl. So, we opted for the genetic testing this time around (we opted out with B) and these tests can tell you the gender of your baby with 99% accuracy. After 11 agonizing days of waiting for the results in the mail, that white envelope with big, red lettering that said, "GENDER RESULTS," finally arrived. Luke let me open it. The first page was a letter from my doctor saying that all genetic testing came back negative for any abnormalities and that the gender results were stapled to this letter. I took a deep breath and flipped page 1 over. Page 2 was a plain white piece of paper with bold, black lettering in the middle of the page that read, "Congrats!! You're having a GIRL!!!" I smiled really big and laughed. Luke said, "Girl??" and I said, "Barrett, you're going to have a little sister!" We were cheering and laughing and poor B started to tear up. He didn't understand what was going on or why mom and dad were being so loud. Someday, it'll be funny that Barrett cried when he found out he was having a sister. :)

So of course, we've decided to share Baby Girl Hinton's name too. Her name has actually been picked out since before we had decided on Barrett's name, around 9 weeks into our pregnancy with B. But it wasn't hard, considering that Luke and I have been together so long. Of course, baby names have come up over the years. But once we paired her first and middle name together, we knew it was the name God has chosen for our little girl, whenever He was to give her to us.

So without any further delay, the name we've chosen for our sweet little girl is...

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Riley is my husband's middle name. How my all my kiddos keep getting named after their daddy is beyond me. I must like him or something. ;) But seriously, I've always loved the name Riley and think it's so sweet that she'll get to share this with her dad. And Scout is the name of the protagonist in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my favorite books of all time. Since I was a sophomore in high school, I've known that I would name a little girl Scout. In this book, Scout is smart, has a strong faith, and believes in the goodness of people. She loves to ask questions because she truly wants to understand and is more of a tomboy than a girly girl. She's always reminded me a lot of myself as a young girl and has many of the characteristics I've always envisioned my own daughter having.

We can't wait to snuggle and kiss and hold our Riley Scout!

17wks 5days

But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."

Isaiah 43:1 ESV

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.

15 March 2016

I can't even begin to tell you all how excited I was to click on the "create new post" button this morning! I haven't written a new blog post in just over a year and I've really missed it. Once Barrett was born (3.12.15), blogging became one of the lowest to-dos on my list and eventually just fell off. I took advantage of every last second of my 3-month maternity leave and then jumped right back into my fulltime marketing job. But once I was back at work + had a baby in MDO/daycare, Luke started a new job, I started a side business, we took on leadership roles in our Sunday school class, life just...happened.

But a couple of months ago, I started to realize that I'd done exactly what I told myself I wouldn't do. I forgot to make time for me. I got wrapped up in being a wife/a mom/a marketing manager and a restlessness began to stir in my heart. I had no outlet. My life was diapers and cooking dinner and email marketing campaigns on repeat. And then one day, my sweet husband said, "Babe, why aren't you writing anymore?" Y'all, this is why God gave me Luke. He just gets me! So, here I am. Back to writing and putting all of my thoughts and stories on virtual paper so that they don't stay all cooped up inside. I'm so excited I can barely stand it!!

I can't wait to document more of pregnancy #2 (YES! For those of you who haven't heard, baby #2 is on HER way! We couldn't be more excited!!), recap Barrett's first year, and loop everyone in on all of the Hinton happenings these days. Thanks so much for following along!